Rotary drilling unit



2 Sheets-Shet 1 I ENVENTOQRS QAN/El. A. BENNETT D. A. BENNETT ETAL ROTARY DRILLING UNIT Fileii March so, 1942 I Oct: 1, 1946.

U Q Q hazard "and source of Patented Oct. 1, 1 946 ES PATENr'oFFlcE,

ROTARY DRILLI G a; Daniel A. Bennett and Augusta. Meier, Oil City, -I 'a., assignors to Oil Well; Supply. Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application March so, 1942, Serial No. 436,908

-This invention relates to'improvements in rotary drilling units of the character comprising a rotary and a prime mover directly driving said rotary. V

--While drilling units of the character stated are generally suitable for their intended purpose, it is sometimes desirable or necessary to provide for auxiliary or emergency drives 'to or from said unit, as when power failure occurs, either by failg'enerally'involve considerable delay in connecting and disconnecting the same. Further, they must be driven at all times, including the greater in- "tervalswhenthey are not being used forauxiliary or emergency purposes, producing unnecessary wear and power cost, and presenting a constant injury to men and app-aratus 1 I -The principal object of our invention is to eliminate the-complexity and numerous parts of such auxiliary or emergency drives to enable efficient and immediate power transmission to or from the drilling unit when desired.

Our invention contemplates the employment of a single auxiliary or emergency drive connection between the drilling unit and other powered apparatus, as for example, a hoisting unit, which drive will remain inactive when not in transmission of power, but which may be instantly engaged or disengaged when desired.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a rotary well drilling apparatus including a drilling unit embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional the line 11-11 of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are diagrammatic views-illustrating the three operating conditions provided by our invention.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates a rotary well drilling rig including a drilling unit A and a hoisting unit B, the latter being powered view taken on -1 Claim. (01. 255-119) by a prime mover C connected .to the jack shaft 2 of the hoist as by means of a belt drive 3 and driving a slush pump D through a belt drive 4. The hoisting unit B includes a rotary drive shaft 5, line shaft 6 and drum shaft 1. The rotary drive shaft 5 may be driven from the jack shaft 2 by a driving connection 8, and line shaft 6 may be driven from said jack shaftby drive 9, the lineshaft driving the drum shaft through a connecting drive l0. The said interconnecting drives of the hoisting unit are diagrammatically illustrated, since such drives are well known and understood in the art.

r The drilling unit A is mounted upon a pair of skids or supports H, and includes a prime mover E connected with and driving the rotaryR. The present invention has to do with the provision of an auxiliary or-emergency driving means for said drilling unit, whereby a separate drive or power transmission is provided to or from the drilling uni-t. The rotary shaft I2 is connected with the prime mover E through a reduction gear F, as when employing an internal combustion engine for said prime mover, in which case the power of the engine E is transmitted through a torque converter, diagrammatically indicated at T. The transmission connecting means or shafting between the prime mover and the rotary shaft 12 is interrupted at two spaced intervals, at which intervals, suitable separable couplings l3 and M are provided. Said couplings are preferably of the type providing for shaft misalignment and possessing the capacity to be quickly engaged and disengaged. For example, couplings of the cutout type may be employed, one of which is shown in detail in Fig. 2.

The couplings as shown each include a gear element l5 secured to one shaft, as the rota y shaft I2 in coupling l3, and a similar gear element I6 is keyed to the connecting shaft H, the latter shaft being separate from the rotary shaft and forming a connecting element with the prime mover E through the reduction gear F. A housing l8 encloses the gear elements I5 and I6 of the coupling, said housing including internal gear portions lsadapted to mesh with the said gear elements when the coupling is in connecting or in the housing l8 and extends into cooperative position with respect to an annular collar 21 on the gear element l5, said set screw functioning to retain the coupling in engaged or disengaged position by preventing longitudinal movement of the housing with respect to said annular portion and the gear elements from one position to the other, it only being necessary to withdraw said set screw out of interfering position with the annular portion 2| in order to actuate the coupling in the manner described.

While shifting means may be connected with,

the housing l8 if desired, the housing is readily and easily slidable in relation to the gear elements l5 and [6, so that the same maybe moved by hand when actuating the coupling to engaged or disengaged position.

Mounted on the shafting between the cou lings l3 and Hi, we provide an auxiliary drive means including a spline collar 22 secured to the con-.

necting shaft I1, and a sprocket or drive member 23 freely rotatable on said shaft, said sprocket having an internal spline portion 24 adapted to engage the spline collar 22, A shifting collar 25 is provided for the sprocket 23, said collar being actuated by a shifting lever26 mounted onthe drilling unit.

Sprocket or drive means 23 may be connected .by a chain 2'! with the hoisting unit B, as by means of a dual idler sprocket 28 freely rotatable on the drum shaft 1 of said unit, the dual sprocket 28 being connected with the rotary-drive shaft 5 by a chain drive 29, whereby the power of either the drilling or hoisting units may be interchangeable for auxiliary or emergency driving purposes.

The operation of our invention is illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Fig. 3 illustrates the position of the mechanism when operating the drilling unit A in the conventional manner to drive the rotary R by means of the prime mover E-, couplings l3 and M being in engaged or transmitting position, and sprocket 23 being free upon the shaft II. In such position, the rotary is driven without the transmission of power or motion to the single auxiliary or emergency drive sprocket 23 and chain 21.

Fig.4 showsthe apparatus'in position" for auxiliary or emergency drive to the hoisting unit, in whichcase, the coupling l3 is disengaged, thereby disconnecting the. rotary R from its prime mover E. The sprocket 23 is shifted to engage the spline 22-24, whereupon the sprocket 23 and its chain 21 are driven from the prime mover E to drive the rotary drive shaft 5, from whence the power may be transmitted to and from the hoisting unit in accordance with the transmission facilities of that unit.

Fig. 5 illustrates the operation-of our invention for an auxiliary or emergency drive from the hoisting unit or other powered external means to the rotary. For such operation, the coupling [3 is in engaged or transmitting position and sprocket 23 is connected to its shaft by the spline means 22--24, with coupling M in disengaged or non-transmitting position, whereby the power applied to chain drive 2'l--23 by the hoisting unit, is transmitted directly to the rotary R.

Hence, it will be seen that we have provided a simple and efficient auxiliary or emergency drive to or from the drilling unit, employing a single auxiliary driving connection between said drilling unit and another power unit, which connecting drive remains inactive during the operation of either or both of said units in their conventional manner. The structure so provided is both simple and durable, the parts of said auxiliary drive remaining inactive during the greater periods of time when the drilling and hoisting units are being operated separately, thereby saving in power cost and wear upon the parts of the mechanism, and materially reducing the hazard o injury to men and apparatus.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated within the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

In a rotary drilling unit, the combination with a rotary, of a prime mover therefor, connecting shafting between said rotary and prime mover, and an auxiliary drive for the transmission of power to and from the unit comprisingapair of spaced couplings disposed in said connecting shafting and adapted to separatelyinterrupt the transmission of power from the primemover to the rotary, a transmission member freely rotatable on the portionof said.connectingzshafting between said couplings, and means for selectively connecting the transmission. memberto said: portion of the connecting shafting.

DANIEL 'A, BENNETT. AUGUST R. MAIER. 

